Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.
1. A method comprising: providing, by a processor, a firmware tool to a target machine for execution on the target machine, wherein the firmware tool locally collects data representing a configuration of firmware of the target machine and wherein the firmware tool collects the data independent of a type of the target machine by using a translation library of the firmware tool to receive common instructions to interact with the firmware and convert the common instructions into specific instructions for a particular type of the target machine; and receiving, by the processor, the data from the firmware tool.
A method for managing firmware configurations on target machines involves a server providing a firmware tool to a target machine. This tool executes locally on the target and gathers data about its firmware configuration. The tool uses a translation library to handle different target machine types. The library receives generic instructions to interact with the firmware and converts them into specific instructions suitable for the particular target machine's firmware. The server then receives this collected firmware configuration data back from the tool.
2. The method of claim 1 , the method further comprising: storing the data in a firmware record.
The method described above (a server provides a firmware tool to a target machine for execution, the firmware tool locally collects data representing a configuration of firmware of the target machine and collects the data independent of a type of the target machine by using a translation library of the firmware tool to receive common instructions to interact with the firmware and convert the common instructions into specific instructions for a particular type of the target machine; and the server receives the data from the firmware tool) also includes storing the received firmware configuration data in a firmware record, which acts as a repository of firmware information.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: comparing the data with previously stored data in a firmware record; and providing the previously stored data to the firmware tool if the data differs from the previously stored data, the firmware tool to apply the previously stored data to the firmware of the target machine.
The method described above (a server provides a firmware tool to a target machine for execution, the firmware tool locally collects data representing a configuration of firmware of the target machine and collects the data independent of a type of the target machine by using a translation library of the firmware tool to receive common instructions to interact with the firmware and convert the common instructions into specific instructions for a particular type of the target machine; and the server receives the data from the firmware tool) includes comparing the newly collected firmware data with previously stored firmware data in a firmware record. If the current data differs from the stored data, the previously stored data is provided back to the firmware tool. The firmware tool then applies this previously stored data to the target machine's firmware, effectively reverting or updating the firmware based on the comparison.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the data comprises: instructing a network management server to collect the data from the firmware tool; and receiving the data from the network management server.
In the method described above (a server provides a firmware tool to a target machine for execution, the firmware tool locally collects data representing a configuration of firmware of the target machine and collects the data independent of a type of the target machine by using a translation library of the firmware tool to receive common instructions to interact with the firmware and convert the common instructions into specific instructions for a particular type of the target machine; and the server receives the data from the firmware tool), the step of receiving data from the firmware tool involves instructing a network management server to collect the firmware configuration data from the firmware tool. The provisioning server then receives the data from the network management server, offloading the direct data collection to the network management server.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the firmware tool is contained within a disk image.
In the method described above (a server provides a firmware tool to a target machine for execution, the firmware tool locally collects data representing a configuration of firmware of the target machine and collects the data independent of a type of the target machine by using a translation library of the firmware tool to receive common instructions to interact with the firmware and convert the common instructions into specific instructions for a particular type of the target machine; and the server receives the data from the firmware tool), the firmware tool is packaged within a disk image file. This facilitates distribution and deployment of the firmware tool to target machines.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein providing the firmware tool further comprises: instructing a helper client on the target machine to retrieve the firmware tool.
In the method described above (a server provides a firmware tool to a target machine for execution, the firmware tool locally collects data representing a configuration of firmware of the target machine and collects the data independent of a type of the target machine by using a translation library of the firmware tool to receive common instructions to interact with the firmware and convert the common instructions into specific instructions for a particular type of the target machine; and the server receives the data from the firmware tool), providing the firmware tool to the target machine involves instructing a helper client already running on the target machine to retrieve the firmware tool. This eliminates the need for the server to directly push the tool to the target.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein providing the firmware tool comprises: transmitting the firmware tool to the target machine over a network; and sending instructions to alter a power state of the target machine after transmitting the firmware tool.
In the method described above (a server provides a firmware tool to a target machine for execution, the firmware tool locally collects data representing a configuration of firmware of the target machine and collects the data independent of a type of the target machine by using a translation library of the firmware tool to receive common instructions to interact with the firmware and convert the common instructions into specific instructions for a particular type of the target machine; and the server receives the data from the firmware tool), providing the firmware tool to the target machine involves transmitting the firmware tool to the target machine over a network. After sending the tool, the method includes sending instructions to alter the power state of the target machine. This could be used to reboot the machine after the firmware tool has completed its task.
8. A system comprising: a network interface to a network of target machines; and a provisioning server, communicating with the network interface and a network management server, the provisioning server to: provide a firmware tool to a target machine in the network for execution on the target machine, wherein the firmware tool locally collects data representing a configuration of firmware of the target machine and wherein the firmware tool collects the data independent of a type of the target machine by using a translation library included in the firmware tool to receive common instructions to interact with the firmware and convert the common instructions into specific instructions for a particular type of the target machine; and receive the data from the firmware tool.
A system for managing firmware configurations includes a network interface for connecting to target machines and a provisioning server. The provisioning server communicates with the network interface and a separate network management server. The provisioning server provides a firmware tool to a target machine, which executes locally and gathers firmware configuration data. The tool uses a translation library to handle different machine types, converting generic instructions into specific ones for each target. Finally, the provisioning server receives the collected firmware data from the tool.
9. The system of claim 8 , the provisioning server to store the data in a firmware record.
The system described above (a network interface to a network of target machines; and a provisioning server, communicating with the network interface and a network management server, the provisioning server to: provide a firmware tool to a target machine in the network for execution on the target machine, wherein the firmware tool locally collects data representing a configuration of firmware of the target machine and wherein the firmware tool collects the data independent of a type of the target machine by using a translation library included in the firmware tool to receive common instructions to interact with the firmware and convert the common instructions into specific instructions for a particular type of the target machine; and receive the data from the firmware tool) is further configured such that the provisioning server stores the received firmware data in a firmware record.
10. The system of claim 8 , the provisioning server to: compare the data with previously stored data in a firmware record; and provide the previously stored data to the firmware tool if the data differs from the previously stored data, the firmware tool to apply the previously stored data to the firmware of the target machine.
In the system described above (a network interface to a network of target machines; and a provisioning server, communicating with the network interface and a network management server, the provisioning server to: provide a firmware tool to a target machine in the network for execution on the target machine, wherein the firmware tool locally collects data representing a configuration of firmware of the target machine and wherein the firmware tool collects the data independent of a type of the target machine by using a translation library included in the firmware tool to receive common instructions to interact with the firmware and convert the common instructions into specific instructions for a particular type of the target machine; and receive the data from the firmware tool), the provisioning server also compares the collected firmware data with previously stored data in a firmware record. If the data differs, the server provides the previously stored data back to the firmware tool. The tool then applies this older data to the target machine's firmware.
11. The system of claim 8 , wherein receiving the data comprises: instructing the network management server to collect the data from the firmware tool; and receiving the data from the network management server.
In the system described above (a network interface to a network of target machines; and a provisioning server, communicating with the network interface and a network management server, the provisioning server to: provide a firmware tool to a target machine in the network for execution on the target machine, wherein the firmware tool locally collects data representing a configuration of firmware of the target machine and wherein the firmware tool collects the data independent of a type of the target machine by using a translation library included in the firmware tool to receive common instructions to interact with the firmware and convert the common instructions into specific instructions for a particular type of the target machine; and receive the data from the firmware tool), the provisioning server receives the data by instructing the network management server to collect the data from the firmware tool and then receiving the data from the network management server.
12. The system of claim 8 , wherein the firmware tool is contained in a disk image.
In the system described above (a network interface to a network of target machines; and a provisioning server, communicating with the network interface and a network management server, the provisioning server to: provide a firmware tool to a target machine in the network for execution on the target machine, wherein the firmware tool locally collects data representing a configuration of firmware of the target machine and wherein the firmware tool collects the data independent of a type of the target machine by using a translation library included in the firmware tool to receive common instructions to interact with the firmware and convert the common instructions into specific instructions for a particular type of the target machine; and receive the data from the firmware tool), the firmware tool is contained within a disk image file.
13. The system of claim 8 , wherein providing the firmware tool comprises: instructing a helper client on the target machine to retrieve the firmware tool.
In the system described above (a network interface to a network of target machines; and a provisioning server, communicating with the network interface and a network management server, the provisioning server to: provide a firmware tool to a target machine in the network for execution on the target machine, wherein the firmware tool locally collects data representing a configuration of firmware of the target machine and wherein the firmware tool collects the data independent of a type of the target machine by using a translation library included in the firmware tool to receive common instructions to interact with the firmware and convert the common instructions into specific instructions for a particular type of the target machine; and receive the data from the firmware tool), the provisioning server provides the firmware tool by instructing a helper client on the target machine to retrieve the firmware tool.
14. The system of claim 8 , wherein providing the firmware tool comprises: transmitting the firmware tool to the target machine over the network; and sending instructions to alter a power state of the target machine after transmitting the firmware tool.
In the system described above (a network interface to a network of target machines; and a provisioning server, communicating with the network interface and a network management server, the provisioning server to: provide a firmware tool to a target machine in the network for execution on the target machine, wherein the firmware tool locally collects data representing a configuration of firmware of the target machine and wherein the firmware tool collects the data independent of a type of the target machine by using a translation library included in the firmware tool to receive common instructions to interact with the firmware and convert the common instructions into specific instructions for a particular type of the target machine; and receive the data from the firmware tool), the provisioning server transmits the firmware tool to the target machine over the network and then sends instructions to alter a power state of the target machine.
15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising: providing, by the processor, a firmware tool to a target machine for execution on the target machine, wherein the firmware tool locally collects data representing a configuration of firmware of the target machine and wherein the firmware tool collects the data independent of a type of the target machine by using a translation library included in the firmware tool to receive common instructions to interact with the firmware and convert the common instructions into specific instructions for a particular type of the target machine; and receiving, by the processor, the data collected from the firmware tool.
A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium stores instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to perform the following: provide a firmware tool to a target machine, where the tool executes locally and gathers firmware configuration data. This tool uses a translation library to handle various machine types, converting generic instructions into specific instructions appropriate to the target machine's firmware. The processor then receives the collected firmware data from the tool.
16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , the operations further comprising: storing the data in a firmware record.
The non-transitory computer readable storage medium described above (instructions for providing a firmware tool to a target machine, where the tool executes locally and gathers firmware configuration data using a translation library to handle various machine types, and receiving the collected firmware data) further includes instructions for storing the data in a firmware record.
17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , the operations further comprising: comparing the data with previously stored data in a firmware record; and providing the previously stored data to the firmware tool if the data differs from the previously stored data, the firmware tool to apply the previously stored data to the firmware of the target machine.
The non-transitory computer readable storage medium described above (instructions for providing a firmware tool to a target machine, where the tool executes locally and gathers firmware configuration data using a translation library to handle various machine types, and receiving the collected firmware data) includes further instructions for comparing the collected data with previously stored data in a firmware record. If the data differs, the previously stored data is provided to the firmware tool, which applies it to the target machine's firmware.
18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein receiving the data comprises: instructing a network management server to collect the data from the firmware tool; and receiving the data from the network management server.
In the non-transitory computer readable storage medium described above (instructions for providing a firmware tool to a target machine, where the tool executes locally and gathers firmware configuration data using a translation library to handle various machine types, and receiving the collected firmware data), the instructions for receiving the data involve instructing a network management server to collect the data from the firmware tool and receiving the data from the network management server.
19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the firmware tool is contained in a disk image.
In the non-transitory computer readable storage medium described above (instructions for providing a firmware tool to a target machine, where the tool executes locally and gathers firmware configuration data using a translation library to handle various machine types, and receiving the collected firmware data), the firmware tool is contained in a disk image.
20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein providing the firmware tool comprises: instructing a helper client on the target machine to retrieve the firmware tool.
In the non-transitory computer readable storage medium described above (instructions for providing a firmware tool to a target machine, where the tool executes locally and gathers firmware configuration data using a translation library to handle various machine types, and receiving the collected firmware data), providing the firmware tool involves instructing a helper client on the target machine to retrieve the firmware tool.
21. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein providing the firmware tool comprises: transmitting the firmware tool to the target machine over a network; and sending instructions to alter a power state of the target machine after transmitting the firmware tool.
In the non-transitory computer readable storage medium described above (instructions for providing a firmware tool to a target machine, where the tool executes locally and gathers firmware configuration data using a translation library to handle various machine types, and receiving the collected firmware data), providing the firmware tool includes transmitting the tool to the target machine over a network and sending instructions to alter a power state of the target machine.
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November 18, 2014
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